TOILET BLOCK CLEARED

Minnamurra Deputy Principal Lyn DeGraff, Ryan McGilvray, Kiama MP Matt Brown, Riley Richardson, P & C President Donna Flanagan, Angela Gray and Jemma Coffey at the old demountable toilets.

MINNAMURRA Primary School students breathed a sigh of relief last week as Kiama MP Matt Brown announced the school would finally receive a new toilet block after many years of campaigning by the schools P&C Committee.

I have been here seven years and we have been trying to get new toilets that whole time, P & C President Donna Flanagan said.

We have a school of 450 students and we only have two permanent male and two permanent female toilets with the rest demountable toilets which were only supposed to be temporary.

The poor kids hold on all day because of the terrible smell and conditions of the demountable toilets. This funding will make a huge improvement.

Allocating over $200,000 to the new toilets Mr Brown said the money was part of the state governments new direction in school maintenance.

This is a victory for students, teachers and parents at these schools who have been calling for these improvements, he said.

This school plays a vital role in educating children from the Kiama region and its only appropriate that they have access to decent facilities. Theres more to do, but were determined to ensure that schools have the modern, well-maintained facilities students deserve and parents expect.

In 2006/07 the Iemma Government will spend a record $10.7 billion on education and training including more than $712 million upgrading and maintaining NSW public schools.

Minnamurra Primary School Vice Captain Riley Richardson said he was very pleased that future students would receive better facilities.

It is really good to get better toilets because we really need them, he said. The toilets at the moment are really old and the doors dont work and the toilets also stink pretty bad. Everyone is really happy.